Fire service to feel cash squeeze
Friday 5th March 2010, 11:14AM GMT.
Shropshire’s fire and rescue service – already one of the worst-funded in Britain – is bracing itself for a Government funding squeeze.
But county residents have been assured there will be no cuts to the brigade’s firefighting capability. Last week the Shropshire Star revealed the service was putting a freeze on recruitment to “non-essential” posts.
Today, Stuart West, chairman of the Shropshire and Wrekin Fire Authority, said service chiefs were looking at how other savings can be made while protecting its “core business” of firefighting and rescue.
Councillor West said the authority was still going ahead with the redevelopment of the Shrewsbury fire station and headquarters.
Improvements were needed to the Telford and Wellington stations and the authority would have to consider how it moved forward on these, he said.
The authority, which will spend about £22 million this year, had been planning to levy a 3.9 per cent council increase this year to break even on its budget.
But there were fears that it might be “capped” by Government and so it reduced the figure to 2.9 per cent which has left it with a £118,000 shortfall.
Councillor West said: “We know we are going to have cuts but we just don’t know what they will be.
“The authority is trying to pre-empt this as much as it can. We are one of the lowest funded services but at the same time we are one of the very best performing.”
Shropshire Star on Twitter
Keep updated with the latest breaking news and content on our Twitter feed.
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Shropshire Star and Express & Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
Entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases.
OUR NEW APP
Get the new Shropshire Star app
Download the Shropshire Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
shropshirestar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
